Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.03 and last traded at $32.4160, with a volume of 30694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AROC shares. Zacks Research upgraded Archrock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Archrock Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.57.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Archrock’s payout ratio is presently 58.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archrock

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AROC. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Archrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,144,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 9,756.7% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,293,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,644,000 after buying an additional 1,279,884 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archrock during the fourth quarter worth $32,904,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock in the third quarter valued at $19,603,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $18,721,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Archrock

Archrock, Inc is a Houston‐based provider of natural gas compression services and equipment to the oil and gas industry in North America. Founded in 2004, the company supplies both short‐term rentals and long‐term contracts for compression solutions, serving upstream and midstream producers. Archrock’s offerings include engineered compression systems, aftermarket parts, maintenance and field services designed to optimize wellhead and pipeline operations.

The company’s core business activities focus on the design, manufacture, rental and sale of gas compression equipment.